


Something So Sublime

by orphan_account



Category: Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley (TV)
Genre: 1950s, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, First Kiss, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pining, Underage Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 17:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20362333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They met Laverne and Shirley downtown, near where Fonzie had said their apartment was and cops weren’t likely to stop and frisk them.Richie supposed she had no one to blame but herself, because she’d been the one to bring it up to Fonzie.(“A Date with Fonzie,” in the alternate universe where Richie and Fonzie are lesbians but everything is otherwise the same.)





	Something So Sublime

Laverne and Shirley weren’t exactly what Richie expected.

First, they’d been late, and Richie had genuinely thought that she and Fonzie had gotten stood up. Fonzie had told Richie to be patient and calm down, which seemed impossible when they were in a part of town Richie had never been in before, in winter, waiting to meet with two strangers.

But Fonzie was right, as she usually was, and Laverne and Shirley did show up, eventually, made up and chewing gum and acting more confident than Richie had ever been in her life. Richie had maybe expected them to be more like Fonzie. Which was ridiculous, because she’d seen the girls Fonzie goes out with, and most of them are nothing like Fonzie.

(She’s not disappointed. Really, she’s not.)

She briefly wondered if Shirley was disappointed. Laverne was obviously happy to be there, what with how she greeted Fonzie by kissing her, and Richie had to remind herself not to stare. It was the first time she had seen it happen in person, and it was kind of beautiful and kind of terrifying because anyone could have seen them.

Shirley didn’t try to kiss her right then, but she did lean her entire body against Richie’s, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Richie felt relieved, because she’d been sure she looked ridiculous. Nothing she had seemed appropriate for this sort of thing, so she had settled for one of her nicer pairs of pants and one of her father’s suit jackets from when he was younger and thinner. It was still a size too big.

Richie had suggested they meet at Arnold’s, but Fonzie had shot her down. The important thing was to be subtle and not grab anyone’s attention.

“Isn’t grabbing people’s attention what you’re good at?” Richie had asked.

Fonzie had ignored her.

So instead, they met Laverne and Shirley downtown, near where Fonzie had said their apartment was and cops weren’t likely to stop and frisk them.

That was what had terrified Richie, almost to the point where she had considered backing out. They could get caught, all four of them, get sent to jail until someone bailed them out, and Richie’s mother and father would find out that their daughter was a deviant freak.

But turning back seemed impossible, now, and even if she could Richie wasn’t sure she wanted to.

——

Richie supposed she has no one to blame but herself, because she’d been the one to bring it up to Fonzie.

It had been after the Valentine’s dance at Arnold’s, watching Potsie and Ralph pick up girls and feeling sick to her stomach with jealousy and loneliness.

There had been another girl there, alone like Richie, and in a moment of courage (or insanity) Richie had sat at her booth.

They had made small talk about the weather, and school, and then Richie had offered to drive her home. The girl had turned her down, because her boyfriend was running late and she was waiting for him.

At the mention of her boyfriend, Richie lost her nerve. With a quick “Oh, that’s nice,” she stood up and practically ran into the ladies’ room.

As she alternated between pacing and staring at the numbers scrawled on the wall and considering calling one of them, Richie had realized what her problem was: there was no way of being sure if any girl would be interested.

And then she remembered Fonzie.

It was an open secret about Fonzie. Everyone knew it, nobody said anything, and Richie was more than a little nervous that by bringing it up at all she’d be breaking some sort of unspoken rule. She didn’t think Fonzie would be interested in her, if she was she would have made some sort of move by now, but Fonzie had to know someone who would be.

So she waited outside Fonzie’s apartment until Fonzie’s date for the night left, then knocked on the door.

She said what she wanted to say the moment she saw Fonzie, because if she waited any longer she was going to realize just what a bad decision this was.

“You know plenty of girls like us, and I was wondering if you could introduce me to someone.”

Fonzie’s eyebrows had raised a fraction of an inch, but other than that she didn’t seem surprised, and she didn’t ask any questions as she pulled Richie inside and started going through her little black book. Had she already known about Richie? Had anyone else known about her? No, it seemed more likely Fonzie was the only one. She’d know what to look for, after all.

“This won’t be easy, you know,” Fonzie said without looking up from her book.

Richie nodded and swallowed. “I know.”

“Especially,” Fonzie continued, “if your parents are still around and you don’t want them to know.”

Richie shrugged. “I don’t have to worry about that for the weekend, at least.”

Fonzie looked up from her book, eyes wide open. “What’d you say?”

“They’re not going to be here this weekend,” Richie repeated. “They’re going out of town to see Aunt Bessie. Joanie, too. She just had an operation - Aunt Bessie, not Joanie -“

Fonzie probably wasn’t paying attention, based on how she started flipping through her little black book faster than before until she found what she was looking for.

She’d looped an arm around Richie with a triumphant smile. Maybe it was just the proximity or what Fonzie said next that made Richie’s heart start pounding.

“Cunningham, you are going to do more living this weekend than you have in seventeen years.”

——

Those words had echoed in Richie’s head ever since Fonzie had said it, repeating in the background like a broken record. They were there when she was getting ready for the date. They were there when she was driving downtown with Fonzie. They were there when she was driving back home, Shirley riding shotgun and Fonzie and Laverne in the backseat. Thry were there when Richie had to get in through the window because she had lost her house keys.

Once she was alone with Shirley in her living room (Fonzie and Laverne having gone up to Fonzie’s apartment), they suddenly stopped as Richie realized she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

Shirley sat down on the couch without a second thought and invited Richie to do the same, pulling Richie’s arm around her once Richie did so. It was a little comforting to know that Shirley’s done this before and knows what to do.

Richie struggled to think of something to say, and ended up blurting out “We almost thought you weren’t going to show.”

“We were just running a little late. Laverne and I had had a little disagreement. I didn’t want to come, she felt like I had to, she shoved my head under the sink.” She shrugged as Richie gaped at her.

“That’s horrible!”

“It’s just a little roughhousing between girlfriends. Believe me, I’ve done just as bad to her.”

“Girlfriends? Girlfriends like - or like...?”

Shirley waved off her concerns. “We have an understanding.”

She said “understanding” like Richie was supposed to know what that meant, so Richie nodded like she did, and tried not to think about what Fonzie and Laverne were probably doing at the moment. Necking, probably. Or maybe they had already moved on from that. Richie might not have first-hand experience or anything, but she had read about it, from paperbacks they sell at corner stores. She only has the one that she bought on the other side of town so nobody would recognize her, hidden underneath her mattress where nobody will look.

Shirley will probably going to want to neck, sooner or later, Richie realized. Maybe she would bring it up when she wanted to, unless she was waiting for Richie to bring it up first. Or she won’t want to at all, because she hadn’t even wanted to come.  
“I’m sorry you got pushed into this.”

Shirley smiled at her. “Well, now that I’ve actually met you, I have to admit this has turned out much better than I thought it would.” She ran a hand down the tie Richie had discreetly borrowed from her dad.

Richie’s worries faded away, and so did that tight feeling in her chest, like they’d never been there to begin with. She smiled back.

That was when the door opened.

Richie instinctively moved away from Shirley, and sure enough, there were her parents standing in the doorway, Howard looking peeved, Marion’s mouth open in surprise, and Joanie peeking over their shoulders.

“What are you doing back from Aunt Bessie’s?”

“Aunt Bessie was cranky and threw us out of the house - what is this? Is that my jacket?”

It was kind of a blur after that - everyone was shouting and Richie was shouting back and Shirley was shaking both her parents’ hands.

Richie wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t just raise further questions. Right now, the important thing to do was to get them out before they could ask just who Shirley was.

“Shirley’s just leaving and I want to say goodbye so will you just go upstairs?”

Howard and Marion exchanged a look, but they went anyway. Joanie followed them, remarking how did they like being sent upstairs, and then Richie was alone with Shirley again.

Shirley looked at Richie sympathetically.

“You’re in real trouble, huh?”

“Well, uh, not a lot, a little -“

“A lot.”

“A lot. I’m really sorry.”

Richie probably should have been more worried than she was. But that had been normal shouting, just the annoyed kind, not the genuinely furious kind. Maybe Richie would get grounded, but not disowned. It was a cheering thought.

Shirley picked up her coat. “I think I’ve gotten you in enough trouble for tonight.”

“You haven’t got me in any trouble,” Richie protested, earning a chuckle from Shirley.

She walked towards the door, Richie close behind her.

“You’re sweet. But I think it’s time for me to head home.”

“Do you want me to drive you back?”

“You’d have to wait for Laverne. I’ll take the bus back, and she can hitch.”

“I’m really sorry about - about everything.”

“Don’t be. A girl would have to be crazy to not want to go out with a cute kid like you. Give me a call sometime - just make sure your folks won’t be around this time, okay?”

“Okay,” Richie said. “So - no goodnight kiss?”

Shirley’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t say that.”

She kissed Richie, and everything leading up to this was suddenly worth it. It was nothing like kissing boys, a desperate attempt to feel something, anything, and just coming up cold.

This time, warmth spread from Richie’s lips through the rest of her body as Shirley kissed her, and Richie felt like she could stay here for the rest of her life.

She had enough presence of mind to close the door behind them, so her parents wouldn’t catch them a second time, and then she surrendered herself completely.

It was like she had found something missing, something that fit into her life effortlessly, and now everything made sense.

It felt like it went on for hours, but when Shirley pulled away Richie wished it could keep going.  
Shirley smiled at her, one last time, before she turned and walked away down the sidewalk.

Richie watched her leave, grinning from ear to ear, and even locking herself out again didn’t put a dent in her mood.

——

Richie waited outside Fonzie’s apartment for Laverne to leave.

She couldn’t get back into the house right now, but besides that, she felt like she had to tell someone, anyone, or she’d burst.

Laverne eventually did come out, lipstick smudged and hair mussed and grinning in satisfaction. She stopped once she saw Richie.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Shirl?”

“Shirley’s taking the bus back,” Richie explained. “And I locked myself out of the house.”

Laverne harrumphed and walked away, muttering to herself.

Fonzie was buttoning her jeans up as Richie let herself in. Normally, Richie might have been a little embarrassed, but she was too excited and it wasn’t like she saw anything, anyway.

“She kissed me,” she said, immediately and a little breathlessly. “Shirley kissed me and I kissed her back.”

Fonzie gestured for her to continue. If she was surprised to see Richie here, she didn’t show it. “And?”

“And then she left. Aunt Bessie kicked my parents out, so they came back.”

Fonzie looked more amused than anything, and Richie got why. Compared to what Fonzie did on any given night, a goodnight kiss probably seemed like nothing in comparison - not that that dampened Richie’s mood any.

“Don’t tell me this was your first.”

“It’s the first one to actually matter.”

Fonzie looked a little surprised by that.

“And I know that doesn’t seem like much to you, but -“

“Ayyy,” Fonzie cut her off. “Everybody’s gotta start somewhere.”

She sidled up next to Richie and lightly punched her on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Richie’s smile, if anything, got bigger as the warmth in her chest practically bloomed.

“And who knows?” Fonzie continued. “Maybe next time you’ll get to do more than just kissing.”

Richie’s face turned bright red. _Next time._

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from “Changing My Major” from the musical Fun Home.
> 
> Reposted after it was accidentally deleted. Originally posted in September 2018.
> 
> This is set when Richie is 17, like the episode it’s based on. Shirley seems to only be two years older than him, since she graduated in 1956 while he graduated in 1958 (assuming that each season corresponds roughly to a year, as season 1 took place in 1955).


End file.
